8 Signs Eating Vegan Was Cool Before Beyoncé Said it Was

Beyoncé and Jay Z are interested in plant-based eating, which is completely awesome. They’ve flirted back and forth with making the permanent plunge and talked openly about how they like to eat plant-based whenever they can. Beyoncé has even partnered with a vegan meal delivery service in order to spread the word about the way of eating that she credits with helping her health, even if she doesn’t follow it strictly.

Say her name.

This loose adherence to plant-based eating seems to be part of the emerging trend. More and more people are hoping on the vegan band wagon, even if it’s just part time. Some are doing it before dinner, some just a few days a week and some are just trying to throw more meat, dairy and egg-free dishes into their repertoires. It’s completely bad ass! Not only is it better for human health (and it goes without saying, it’s better for animals too), it’s also better for the environment. The less meat and diary we eat, the fewer resources we waste to produce it. Take that Global warming.

But, you know what? Queen Bey is awesome and all that jazz, but eating vegan was cool waaaaay before she decided to put a ring on it.

You know?

For reals, it was. The fact that it’s a growing trend right now makes us giddy as school girls, but let’s face some awesome facts. People have been getting down with veganism for decades and it’s steadily gotten more and more popular all on it’s own. Don’t believe us? Here are eight examples of times eating vegan proved it’s always been cool.

1. You can guzzle, like, 10 kinds of non-dairy milk at the regular grocery store these days.

The Blueberry Bison

2. Same goes for dairy-free ice cream

3. A vegan diet only contributes 6.3 pounds of carbon monoxide into the environment vs. the 15.8 contributed by heavy meat eaters, so historically, vegans have always kept the earth “cooler.” 

4. This happened one time.

Infinity House Magazine

5. The word ‘vegan’ was coined in 1944, so yeah, people were rocking out to Bing while they loaded up on tofu long before they were rocking out to Bey.

Zoomer Radio

6. When a food shortage struck the original Woodstock festival in the 60s, macrobiotic vegetarians saved the day with veggies, brown rice and granola.

Huffington Post

7. Carl Lewis set a world record at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo after having gone vegan the year prior. No animal products required.

Intelligenza Yoga

8. This cow. This cow always has and always will make eating vegan awesome.

Free From Harm

Lead Image Credit: SDA Shirts